Under Way (3rd in the Vicksburg series)
by PollyVictorian
Summary: Scott feels the comradeship of an army unit, as his company sets out for the war zone.


***** Author's note: The 83rd Indiana was a real historical regiment, with company designations from A through K. For these stories, I have added a fictitious Company L for Scott to serve in. *****

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><p>"Company, halt!" Captain Faulkner raised his hand and the soldiers of Company L, 83rd Indiana Infantry came to a stop, within sight of the railway depot. Scott could see a line of freight cars on the railway line. He wondered where the passenger cars for transporting the troops were.<p>

"Fall out!" This was the order the men were waiting for. As the soldiers had marched into Lawrenceburg, the streets had been lined with people. The families of the new recruits who made up the 83rd Indiana had come to see their boys off. Now, as the men stacked their muskets, the parents, sisters, younger brothers, wives and sweethearts surged forward to make the most of the hour before the trains would start rolling out on the southbound journey. Each soldier started working his way through the crowd to his own folks, eager for a final few words.

Scott stood beside the stack of weapons, watching the Indiana boys who were now his comrades greet the families who had made the trip in from the towns and countryside round about. He was the outsider for the moment. There would be no-one to see the Boston boy off; his grandfather wouldn't even have received the letter telling him that Scott was in Indiana yet.

He could see the Lewis brothers talking to a middle-aged couple, Rick Hardy standing behind them. Further along, Dan Cassidy was sweeping a pretty young woman into his arms. Tice McRae and his cousin, Cal Stewart, were standing in the middle of a group - the families of both, Scott presumed. Tice turned around and, catching sight of Scott, waved a hand, beckoning him over.

"Ma, Pa, this is my friend Scott, the one I wrote you about, with almost the same birthday as me," Tice made the introduction as Scott joined them.  
>"How do you do, Mrs McRae, Mr McRae," Scott touched his hat as he greeted Tice's parents.<br>"We're very pleased to meet you, Scott," Mrs McRae responded. "Tice has told us how you came along with him to enlist. It's so awful that this war has made you both leave college."  
>"Now, Janet, the boys can go back to Harvard once the war's over," Tice's father interposed. "We'll be back here, waving them off on a train headed east before you know it.<br>"I hope so." Janet McRae's voice choked for a moment, then her cheerful smile was forced back into place.  
>"Aren't your folks here to see you off?" The question came from a girl of about twelve or thirteen standing at Mrs McRae's side.<br>"This is my sister, Lottie," Tice said with a grin.  
>"Pleased to meet you, Lottie," Scott smiled at the little girl. "And no, I live in Boston so it was too far for anyone to come to see me off."<br>"Did your ma and sisters send you anything? We made lots of cake and cookies for Tice and Cal," Lottie persisted.  
>"I don't have a mother, or sisters or brothers," Scott answered her. "Tice and Cal are luckier than I am."<br>"Now, Lottie, don't be impertinent, asking personal questions," her mother put in.  
>"Cheeky but harmless, aren't you, kid?" Tice laughed, ruffling his little sister's hair. Lottie smiled back up at him. Watching them, Scott felt a twinge of envy. Being a brother was something he would never experience.<p>

The Stewart and McRae families were milling together. They were friendly and welcoming but after a minute or two Scott murmured an excuse and slipped away. He didn't want to intrude on their farewells. He sat down near the stack of muskets.

A woman in a white apron came out of a nearby café, carrying a large coffee pot. She went to where the officers were standing and poured coffee for all of them. Heading back towards the café, she spotted Scott sitting alone and came up to him. He jumped to his feet.  
>"I think I can squeeze one more cupful out," she said, smiling at him. Scott pulled his cup out of his knapsack and the woman filled it with the last of the steaming liquid from the pot.<br>"Thank you, ma'am," he said.  
>"You're very welcome, young man." She gave him another smile and headed back to the café.<br>Sergeant Stevenson strolled over to join him.  
>"That's Mrs Balfour," he said, looking after the woman. "She might be joining us when we get to our next camp, if we're lucky."<br>"Joining us?" Scott was surprised, but the sergeant nodded.  
>"That's right. She followed her husband to the Mexican War. I was in the same company. Even after he died of camp fever, she stayed with the regiment, nursing and helping out wherever she could. Now she says that if there are soldiers needing her, then that's where she belongs. She's applied to Col. Spooner for permission to accompany us."<p>

"Moving out in five minutes, men!" The call from the officers was shouted around. Everywhere the families were giving final hugs, kisses and handshakes and loading up the soldiers with parcels and last minute gifts. Scott noticed little Lottie McRae looking in his direction. She turned and said something to her mother, who nodded. Lottie picked up a paper bag and ran over to him.  
>"Here," she said, handing the bag to him. "These are for you, because you haven't got a sister to make things for you. They're spice cookies. I hope you like them."<br>"Spice cookies are my favorites. Thank you, Lottie." Scott replied.  
>"You're welcome. Come back safe." Lottie smiled, then skipped back to her parents and brother.<p>

LLLLLLLLLL

"Your ma's still cut up about you leaving college," Cal said to Tice as they fell into line.  
>"Yeah, well, she and Pa were thrilled when old Doc Palmer left me the money to go to Harvard. They were all excited at the thought of their son getting a college education. It was for their sake I went. I didn't really care much about it."<br>"But you were always so good at the book learning in school."  
>"Yes, that was it," Tice said. "I sort of felt I had to live up to it. It didn't worry me to leave college, though, not when there was real work to be done."<br>"What about you, Scott? Did you hate to leave college?" Cal asked him.  
>"I didn't think much about it," Scott answered. "I guess I'm a little like Tice. I went to Harvard because it was the thing to do. All the boys from my school went there. I'll go back after the war; my grandfather will expect it." If he still had a grandfather – if Harlan Garrett hadn't disowned his grandson for enlisting against his wishes.<p>

The line of soldiers was marched up to the freight cars standing ready on the track.  
>"On board, men!" Sergeant Stevenson ordered. Scott was puzzled.<br>"Those are boxcars, Sergeant," he said.  
>"Glad to know your eyesight is satisfactory, Private Lancer," the sergeant replied. "Alright, men, in with you!"<br>The soldiers moved forward and started climbing aboard. Cal Stewart was standing stock still as the others pushed and bumped their way past him.  
>"Come on, cousin," Tice said, taking Cal's arm and hustling him up into the car. "Stay between Scott and me, you'll be fine. Cal's not so good in closed-in places," he explained to Scott.<br>"We'll find a spot in the middle; that won't be so bad," said Scott. The boxcar was bare; no seating of any kind. The soldiers were pulling off their knapsacks to sit on as they crammed on board.  
>"Next time we load cattle onto the cars, we'll know how they feel," Joe Lewis grinned.<br>Cal was not the only nervous soldier in the company. Rick Hardy had been staring at the railway cars wide-eyed before they boarded. Now he said to Dan Cassidy,  
>"These trains, they're safe, aren't they, Corporal?"<br>"Of course they are, Rick," Cassidy reassured him. "They're running all over the country now. Haven't you been on a train before?" Hardy shook his head.  
>"No. I've never had to travel far. A horse and wagon has always been enough."<p>

The engine's whistle sounded and the car bumped and shook as it began to move. From the looks on some of the faces around him, Scott surmised that Rick Hardy was not the only man on board who had never travelled by rail before. Like Rick, many of the Western boys would never have had cause to travel further than the county seat.

Cal was sitting with his eyes shut tight. Tice nudged him.  
>"C'mon, Cal, let's have some of that cake your ma gave you. Aunt Ellie makes the best fruit cake I've ever tasted, even better than my Ma's." Cal opened his eyes and gave a weak sort of smile, then opened up one of the packages he'd been laden with.<br>"That's the way. Hey, anyone else got some good grub?"  
>Most of the soldiers had, and tasty home treats from pies and cakes to pickles and farm-cured ham were soon circulating. Scott opened his packet of cookies and passed them around, after taking out a couple for himself. It felt good having something to share, like the other boys. He had never eaten spice cookies before, but he hadn't been lying to Lottie when he told her they were his favorite. Her gesture of giving them had made them his favorites for all time.<p>

"How about a song?" someone called. "Anybody know the words to Rally Round The Flag?"  
>"Course we do!" The answer came from more than one voice and the song was struck up with vigor. Scott was startled to hear a magnificent baritone from just behind him, and even more startled when he realized it was from Sergeant Stevenson.<p>

"The Union forever! Hurrah, boys, hurrah!" The men of Company L made a joyful, if not always tuneful, noise as the train rattled on its way. Scott added his voice to those of his brothers-in-arms. He had a brief moment of wondering what might lie ahead, but there was no point in thinking about it. His immediate destiny was out of his hands now. All that need concern him was doing his duty as a soldier of the Union Army. A soldier of Company L, 83rd Indiana.


End file.
